Poll results: 8/10 cyclists think..

This week we’ve been looking at some pretty big cycling related issues. After all the debating and vote button clicking the results are in!

London Cycle Hire Scheme

A very clear cut winner here! Eight out of ten cyclists think the Cycle Hire Scheme is overall a good idea for London. Whilst there is overwhelming support the main concerns raised by people were around theft, the huge cost of the project and how that money could have been spent on more bike facilities such as cycle parking.

On the positives, Jolyon talked about how this may prove to be a critical point when cycling in London gains more traction. Vrinda commented it will also be useful to regular cyclists when they happen to be away from their bike and want to get from A-to-B quickly.

With high hopes for the cycle hire scheme let’s see if it performs. Overall I too am positive about the scheme and would like to see it be a big success. With that kind of money invested, it has to be!

Harsher fines for cyclists

With an incredible total of 147 votes this was a hot topic. I didn’t know which was it would swing because some people showed real anger towards so called anti-social cycling behaviour. Overall however 74% of people decided this was not the right way to go about promoting safe cycling.

Some of the comments hinted towards the negative image skipping red lights creates for cyclists. Tim talked about how this is one of those laws that it is very tough to enforce so the fine is not as important as the difficult enforcement process. Craig agreed about the difficulty of enforcing which again rendered the fine amount as unimportant.

Adam made a good point by comparing the amount of rule breaking by motorists such as talking on phones. Of course the detriment to someone doing this is likely to be far greater to anyone in the cars path rather than in the path of the bike. Murray also compared it to pedestrians. Saying how similar enforcement should be in place for pedestrians walking carelessly in cycle paths.

Mark thinks that the government is completely missing the point. They should instead be focusing on why people are jumping red lights and whether this argument for improved safety actually adds up. In one bit of research that never saw the light of day it was proven cyclists who jump red lights are safer. Though the causes behind this are uncertain.

There were plenty more very interesting comments which you can follow here.

Share the road

This poll really split the vote. There was much uncertainty around the kind of benefits this brings. Phil argued for sharing the road because it will encourage motorists to always be looking out for cyclists. He discussed how separate cycle paths may have a negative effect by creating no-go areas for cyclists on roads without them.

There was also the argument by thereverent who talked about the poor upkeep of cycle paths and how the existence of a cycle path makes it very hard for a cyclist who decides to stay on the road. Adam raised the point that we should be taking away space from motorists as it is an unsustainable mode of transport.

I think the poll shows support for separate cycle paths when they are well maintain and they are genuinely useful. However, in most cases it is best to just learn to share the road.

Conclusion

Overall I really enjoyed this week of polls. I think as a once a month thing it could work really well on London Cyclist Blog. If you had any thoughts let me know in the comments below.

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If cyclists who jump red lights are safer, then why doesn’t that transfer to car drivers?

I really do find it difficult to fathom why cyclists do this…..I have done it in the past, so I am not preaching here, just playing devils advocate.

I love cycling and have gone through red lights at crossings when there are no ipeds crossing, but I see some cyclists go through some red lights with gay abandon most mornings and think ‘why’ and ‘what if…..’

good work with all the polls, i enjoyed reading all the opions that seemed to come thick and fast. i think the next poll should explore how many bikes you may reasonably own before it gets out of hand! The next installment of the bike-work kicks off soon and i’ve been debating do i need another road bike which will be lighter that my current one or can i findsome dealer who will let me split by grand between two bikes so i can get perhaps a SS along with a folding bike!

Andreas – some good polls this week – although only been a reader of your blog for a week or two – have enjoyed it – its also interesting to read other cyclists opinions and how sometimes they completely differ from one another (me especially!)

Phil, your welcome! I think the bikes one is definitely a good topic to explore. One which all cycle obsessed people one day have to deal with!
Joby, glad you enjoyed the polls and welcome to the blog!

Often in public debate a polarised position is taken. Either / or. What was good about last week was that people took mature evaluative part in the discussions. Then again I have always found fellow cyclists to be intelligent thoughtful people.